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Willamette University Receives Historic $11 Million Gift

Willamette University announced Saturday an $11 million gift
from Tokyo International University of America (TIUA) to initiate a
major transformation of the University's undergraduate residential
program. The gift will be used to convert Kaneko Hall, located on
the TIUA campus adjacent to Willamette University, to Kaneko
Commons.

The creation of the Kaneko Commons is the first step in the
University's plan to completely redesign the teaching-learning
experience for Willamette undergraduates through the creation of a
University-wide residential commons program.

"This gift is not only historic in size," said Willamette
University President M. Lee Pelton, "but it is historic in its
intent which is to change forever how this University integrates
the living and learning experience of our students. This gift, the
largest in the 161-year history of the University, strengthens our
relationship with Tokyo International University and TIUA and
reflects our shared vision to transform young scholars into global
citizens."

Pelton added, "This gift will encourage others to support the
long-term vision we have for Willamette. It's a key component to
the Campus Master Plan and a significant contribution to our
comprehensive campaign."

The University plans to create a total of five residential
commons over the next eight to 10 years. Each commons will include
a live-in faculty mentor, faculty associates and student preceptors
who will oversee academic programs, advising, community service and
student activities.

Kaneko Commons will become the first of these distinctive
facilities and will house the entire first-year class, folding
together some of the best attributes of Willamette's first-year
academic programs with residential programs.

Gunnar Gundersen, executive vice president, has been with TIUA
since 1989 and explained the University's commitment to Willamette.
"Simply put, this is a long-term partnership. The intent of TIUA
and TIU is an indefinite relationship with Willamette University.
The deep commitment, mutual trust and confidence these institutions
find in each other are unique in international education
relationships."

He also believes the creation of Kaneko Commons will enhance the
reputation of TIU at home. "This strengthened partnership with
Willamette will reflect positively on TIU in Japan and will enhance
its reputation as an international university. We know many
Japanese high school students wish to attend TIUA. High school
students all over Japan know about Willamette."

For Robert Hawkinson, Willamette dean of campus life, the
creation of the Kaneko Commons is the first step in the
University's plan to completely redesign the teaching- learning
experience. He has been on the campus for 20 years and is a strong
advocate of the residential commons concept.

"The experience of a Willamette University liberal arts
education should hold up throughout the life of the individual," he
said. "Our students are members of a community of learners. When
you combine caring and accomplished faculty with curious,
intellectually gifted students and provide a residential system
that allows those elements to flow together seamlessly, you have
created an environment that is nothing less than
extraordinary."

Under the old system of residence halls and Greek houses,
students connected with their studies in class, and if they were
disciplined, during quiet hours in the library. The residential
commons concept puts students in a learning environment 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. A live-in faculty mentor coordinates
diverse academic programs and advising; live-in preceptors,
Willamette juniors and seniors, coordinate community service
opportunities and assist students with planning and coordinating a
broad array of co-curricular activities.

As one student put it, "In the residential commons, the
intellectual faucet stays open. If you want to continue the
discussion you started in class at 3 o'clock, there will always be
people around who'll be up for arguing and rehashing the fine
points well into the night. And that's how we learn--about the
topic, about each other."

Residential commons are beginning to emerge around the country,
but the Willamette system, according to Hawkinson, is distinctive.
"We are combining an all-freshmen residential program and a system
of sophomore through senior residential commons with a vibrant
Greek system. No other campus in the country combines these three
elements and each one serves us in a different way."

He added, "The first-year commons will provide a richer
experience of intellectual engagement. The commons for sophomore
through senior students will provide for community, increased
self-governance, an opportunity to work collaboratively on a
variety of projects and engage in deliberate community service. The
Greek system will connect us to the University's past and focuses
on leadership and philanthropic development. Some 28 percent of
Willamette University students select a Greek society."

Jim Bauer, Willamette vice president for administrative
services, said much remains to be done but he hopes to break ground
on the Kaneko Commons project next summer and open the doors in the
fall of 2005. The on-campus planning process begins in June and
once that is complete, the University will select an architect and
begin the design process.

The $11 million gift will be applied to construction costs and
operational support. The plan calls for a significant upgrade of
Kaneko Hall which, with the new addition, becomes Kaneko Commons.
The present facility includes 200 beds and 80,000 square feet. Once
completed, the Commons will include 450 beds and 160,000 square
feet, additional classroom and meeting space, enlarged public areas
and recreational amenities.

The pedestrian sky bridge that vaults 12th Street in Salem, OR,
and connects TIUA to the Willamette campus, is a suitable metaphor
for the relationship between the institutions that began in
1965.

When Dr. Taizo Kaneko founded TIU 38 years ago, he wrote to more
than 200 colleges and universities in the United States hoping to
find a sister university interested in international education.
When Willamette University responded, the bond was forged.

Years later, when Willamette President Jerry Hudson visited
Japan in 1987 to attend the funeral of Dr. Kaneko, he offered a
proposal to his son, Dr. Yasuo Kaneko, now chancellor of TIU. The
proposal was to develop a site next to Willamette University and
build a residence hall for TIU students interested in long-term
study abroad programs. Kaneko Hall opened in the fall of 1989 with
60 TIU students. Since then, the average class size has been about
120 students who study at Willamette from February to December each
year.

TIUA students arrive as sophomores and are housed in 13
residence halls all over campus. They are fully integrated into the
residence life programs and student activities on the campus. Of
the 108 Japanese students now on campus, 90 were paired with
Willamette students who requested international or TIUA roommates.
Total immersion and full integration are trusted components of a
successful international education program. As sophomores, TIUA
students will participate in the residential commons program.

The $11 million gift closed out the fundraising year for
Willamette University which, despite the downturn in the economy,
raised a record $21 million in 2002-03.